El Clasico - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid CF kick-off time

Barcelona v Real Madrid takes place this evening in La Liga in the first league Clasico of the season.

The game, which takes place at Camp Nou, is scheduled to kick off at 18:50 BST, and airs live in the UK on Sky Sports 1/Sky Sports 1 HD.

Barca lead their rivals by eight points in Primera Liga, but Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is confident that Los Blancos can prevent that lead being extended when the two giants collide.

"I have confidence in my players, as always," Mourinho said.

"When they work hard obviously I have more confidence in them, complete confidence."

The 'Special One' was highly critical of the attitude of his players after recent league defeats at Getafe and Sevilla and since then, they have responded by winning four matches in a row in all competitions, scoring 14 goals in the process.

"I think you can see the players have understood they had to change," he said.

"They understood they had to be more motivated, to be more focused and that the way the team was, would have led to a negative end to the season.

"It's a credit to them. They have changed, and in this way it is easier for good things to happen."

Defeat for Mourinho's men would leave them 11 points behind a Barcelona side who dropped only 15 and 18 points respectively during their title winning campaigns in 2009-10 and 2010-11.